Application Portal - Frequently Asked Questions

1. User Account, Login, Password, Username

a) Question: The following or a similar error message is displayed in the browser window when I call the application portal: "Error 400: Bad Request. Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand."

Answer: The issue can be resolved by clearing your browser's cache and cookies. Please consult your browsers support page or search the internet on how to clear your browser's cache and cookies. If this solution does not work or you prefer not to delete your cache/cookies, please try a different browser.

b) Question: I’m not able to set up a user account for the Application Portal. Whenever I click on “Submit,” I get an error report.

Answer: Fields that have not been completed, or not completed correctly, will be shown with an orange border if you try unsuccessfully to submit the form. All of the fields with orange borders must be completed correctly in order to set up an account.

Please also check that you have repeated your e-mail address and password correctly. The portal will not accept two different e-mail addresses and passwords.

It is also essential that you comply with the password criteria. These are shown when you click in the “Enter password” field. Each of the individual criteria is shown with a tick, and turns green as soon as it has been fulfilled. Passwords must fulfill all of the criteria shown in order to be valid.

You can set a new password for yourself on the login page for the Application Portal. Just click on “Forgot Password,” then follow the instructions. You’ll receive an e-mail containing an initial password and an activation link. Please klick on the activation link first and then log in immediately using your username and the initial password that you have received. You will then be asked to create your own, original, password. To do this, enter the initial password in the “Current Password” field. Then, in the “New Password” field, enter your own, original password, and repeat it in the second field. The password criteria are shown as soon as you click in the fields.

Answer: There have been too many unsuccessful attempts to enter the password:

If you have already made too many unsuccessful attempts to enter your password at the login stage, and you are therefore unable to reset your password yourself, you will have to contact Student Administration Office or Admissions Office via contact form. They will then send you an initial password by e-mail, which you can use to set a new password for yourself (see previous section: “Set a new password”).

Answer: If you have forgotten your username:

You will find your username in the e-mail which UZH sent you to confirm and activate your user account (the e-mail subject line was “[UZH Admission] User Account Verification”). If you can no longer find the e-mail, please use the contact form to get in touch with the Student Administration Office or Admissions Office.

d) Question: I can't log in to the Application Portal with my UZH login data (staff and former students):

Answer: Staff of UZH and former students who are no longer matriculated with the University must open a new user account for the Application Portal, even if they (still) have a UZH short name and a password. Only active students who are currently matriculated are able to use the login for UZH students (AAI login).

2. Uploading Documents, Entering Student ID Number

a) Question: The portal is rejecting the document that I want to upload. What might be the reason for that?

Answer: There may be a number of reasons that the document is failing to upload.

Please note the following restrictions on the documents that are to be submitted:

Maximum size of individual files: 20 MB

With the exception of the photo, which must be uploaded as a .jpg or .png file, only PDF files are accepted.

Special characters or umlauts in file names (ä, ö, ü, %, etc.) are not accepted, or will result in an error in the file name. If you have any umlauts in your file names, write them out instead (e.g. ae and oe, as in the Maturitaetsausweis [upper secondary school-leaving certificate]).

Please do not upload any PDFs of diplomas or references that you have simply photographed. These documents should be scanned instead.

b) Question: Submitting my application by clicking on “Save and Pay” doesn’t work. I’m being asked to enter my student ID number, but I don’t have one, because I’ve never studied in Switzerland.

Answer: Please check the information you entered in the “Summary Choice of Studies” and “Information Related to Studies” sections of your application.

If you are applying for a Master’s or doctoral program, or the Teaching Diploma for Upper Secondary Education:

Answer the question about your qualification for the selected academic level with “Foreign qualification.” If you answer “Swiss qualification,” the system will assume that you have previously been matriculated at a Swiss university, and thus hold a student ID number.

⇒ Once you have entered and saved an application, this information can no longer be changed. Please enter a new application, and select “Foreign qualification” at the appropriate point.

In addition, you must answer “No” to the question about whether or not you have ever been matriculated at a Swiss higher education institution.

⇒ You can change your answer to this question directly in the existing application that you have saved. Once you have answered the previous question correctly, you will be able to submit your application, without having to enter a student ID number.

If you are applying for a Bachelor’s study program:

When asked “Previous matriculation at higher education institution” you must answer “No: First matriculation” or “Yes: Only foreign higher education institution.” If you answer “Yes: Swiss higher education institution (addtl. foreign institution),” the system will assume that you have previously been matriculated at a Swiss university, and thus hold a student ID number.

⇒ Once you have entered and saved an application, this information can no longer be changed. Please enter a new application and select the correct answer. The “Student ID number” field will then no longer appear in the application form. You can now submit your application.

3. Making Changes to Your Application

a) Question: I have saved my application, but not yet submitted it, and I want to change the degree program/study programs/my personal details, etc.

Answer: As long as you have not yet sent your application, you can change the information you provide at any time before the application deadline:

If you would like to change your degree program, study programs or any other information in the “Summary Choice of Studies” section, you will have to enter a new application and then send it. You can leave the existing application as it is, or withdraw it. You will find the “Withdraw” button at the bottom right of the screen in the Application Portal.

Information in other sections (such as Personal Details, Memberships and Fees, etc.) can be changed directly in the application that you have saved. Make sure to confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.

b) Question: I have already submitted my application, but now (before I begin my studies) I would like to change the degree program/study programs/my personal details, etc. What do I have to do?

Answer: It is not possible to make any further changes online to an application that you have already submitted. Please contact the Student Administration Office (if you have applied for a Bachelor’s study program and have a Swiss university entrance qualification) or the Admissions Office (if you have applied for a Bachelor’s study program and have a foreign university entrance qualification, as well as for Master’s and doctoral study programs, and teaching diplomas) directly if you would like to change your degree program or study programs. Please use the contact form. Please also contact the offices referred to above if you need to change your personal details.

Once you have been admitted to the University and received your online login data (short name, etc.), you can change your contact data yourself using the relevant online service. In the case of changes of name and nationality, etc., please follow the instructions on the Change of Address and Personal Details web page.

4. Paying the Application Fee/Payment Process Not Working

a) Question: I do not have a credit card or a PostFinance card. How can I pay the application fee and submit my application?

Answer: Instead of a normal credit card you can use a prepaid card to pay the application fee online and submit your application. It is not possible to submit an application without paying the application fee online.

You can obtain a prepaid card as follows:

From your bank. Youth banking packages and student bank accounts usually offer the possibility of getting a prepaid card. These cards are either free or very cheap.

b) Question: I’m not sure that my payment for the application fee has gone through/the payment process was interrupted.

Answer: Please check your payment status in the Application Portal. After you have sent your application, wait for five or ten minutes before checking. You may need to log out and then log in again, so that your data can be updated.

Then click on your application and the “Fees” tab (top left). If your payment has been successful, your application fee status will read “Online payment authorized.”

If the payment has not gone through, please try again by clicking on “Repeat Payment” on the bottom right of the Application Portal screen.

Your application will only be processed if the application fee has been paid.

5. Application Status, Duration & Status of Processing, Admission

a) Question: How can I check progress with the processing of my application online? How long will it take to review my application? How will I find out whether or not I have been admitted to study at UZH?

Answer: For the answers to these questions please check the status of your application in the Application Portal.

Please log in to the Application Portal. The status of your application is shown directly on the “tile” (on the bottom right). After opening the application you will also find the status on the top right of the screen on the “Application Details” page.

The statuses listed below are used. Read on for further information.

Status

Meaning

Saved

Application has been saved, but not yet submitted

Submitted

Application has been submitted, but payment has not yet been received/authorized

To be verified

Application has been submitted, payment authorized, and it is now under review

Incomplete

You must submit certain missing documents

Admitted

Application has been approved and the admission letter is available via the portal

Rejected

Application has been rejected and rejection letter is available via the portal

Matriculated

Student has matriculated and payment for their semester fees has been received

Withdrawn

Application has been withdrawn

“Saved” status:

You have not yet submitted your application. Please do so before the deadline by clicking on the “Save and Pay” button on the bottom right of the open application.

“Submitted” status:

The application fee has not yet been paid or authorized, or the data in the application have not yet been updated. Please check your payment status via the “Fees” tab in the Application Portal. If necessary, please try to make the payment again. (Please refer also to the previous section: “Paying the Application Fee/Payment Process Not Working”.)

“To be verified” status:

As long as the “Under review” status is shown, your application is being processed by the Student Administration Office or Admissions Office. The time it takes to process a complete application can vary, and it may take as long as three months.

“Incomplete” status:

Missing documents must be submitted, and those which did not initially meet quality standards must be submitted once again. Please note the information given under the “Documents” tab in your application:

Under “UZH Documents,” you will find a letter (which you will have been notified about by e-mail) containing information on the documents which have still to be submitted. The “My Application Documents” section also contains entries about the documents which have been rejected.

“Admitted” or “Rejected” status:

If admission is granted or the application rejected, the status will change to “Admitted” or “Rejected,” as appropriate. The detailed admission or rejection letter can be accessed via the “Documents” tab under “UZH Documents” on the Application Portal as soon as you have received the corresponding notification by e-mail.

"Matriculated" status:

The payment for the semester fee was received in full and your matriculation is complete. The login-details for the electronic services at UZH will be available for download in a separate letter in the "Documents" tab under "UZH Documents" on the Application Portal within 72 hours.

“Withdrawn” status:

This indicates that you have withdrawn your application. This is a final status. Your application will no longer be processed and there will be no further correspondence about it.

6. Withdrawing an Application

a) Question: I would like to withdraw my application. Until when can I do that online via the Application Portal?

Answer: You can withdraw your application online via the Application Portal as long as you have not yet been admitted by the Student Administration Office or Admissions Office (or your application has not yet been rejected).

You can view the processing status of your application at any time in the Application Portal. As long as its status is shown as “Submitted,” “To be verified,” or “Incomplete” (or “Saved,” if it has not yet been sent), you can open the application and then withdraw it using the “Withdraw” button on the bottom right of the screen. Your application fee will not be refunded.

If you have already been admitted to study at UZH, but have not yet paid the semester fees (“Admitted” status), please use the contact form to notify us that you are withdrawing your application. If you have already paid your semester fees (“Matriculated” status), you must apply in writing to the Student Administration Office in the form of an “Application to Withdraw from UZH.” Please note the procedural information on the web page Withdrawing from the University, under “Leaving the University during the Semester.”

b) Question: I wish to apply for a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD program, for a Teaching Diploma for Upper Secondary Education, or for incoming mobility within Switzerland. What are the applicable application deadlines?